Candidate Obama

Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Iowa's wide summer sky frames Barack Obama, who has made a point of reaching out to people tired of divisive politics. In the state's intimate settings, where voters come in person to take the measure of the candidate, his rhetoric has been mild. He's sometimes criticized as too conciliatory.

Iowa's wide summer sky frames Barack Obama, who has made a point of reaching out to people tired of divisive politics. In the state's intimate settings, where voters come in person to take the measure of the candidate, his rhetoric has been mild. He's sometimes criticized as too conciliatory. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The competition intensified with Obama's surge in Iowa polls. Hillary Rodham Clinton went on the offensive, citing what she cast as gaps between his rhetoric and performance. "Now the fun part starts," she said, with a month to go before Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses. Obama retorted in a statement, "This presidential campaign isn't about attacking people for fun. It's about solving people's problems, like ending this war and creating a universal healthcare system."

The competition intensified with Obama's surge in Iowa polls. Hillary Rodham Clinton went on the offensive, citing what she cast as gaps between his rhetoric and performance. "Now the fun part starts," she said, with a month to go before Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses. Obama retorted in a statement, "This presidential campaign isn't about attacking people for fun. It's about solving people's problems, like ending this war and creating a universal healthcare system." (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Barack Obama has made a point of reaching out to people tired of divisive politics. He stepped onto the national stage in 2004 with a speech on the "audacity of hope" at the Democratic National Convention. Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times